If you want to understand the roots of the Civil War (and be entertained in the process), read this book. It's as simple as that. Read it if you're interested in who Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln were as people; how the Southern Democrats of 1860 sabotaged their own party to ensure they would lose the election; how the decision to start a bloody Civil War was the result of a buck passed down to the point where the final call was made by a local Charleston artillery commander; how Lincoln committed wholly unconstitutional (and probably impeachable) acts to defend Washington; or even how the rate of economic return on investing in slaves in the Deep South vs. investing in machinery in New England ultimately both instigated and determined the outcome of the war. A must-read for any history fan.

Volume 1 of the Civil War Trilogy by Catton. Incredible. I have had these books for years on the shelf. Frustrated at myself for just now getting into the series! Feels like I’m getting a Master’s degree in Civil War History.

It is sad that so few people are familiar with Bruce Catton. A historian and journalist, Catton was widely known for his eminently readable histories of the American Civil War, including his National Book Award-winning Stillness at Appomattox and his trilogy published during the centennial of the Civil War.

I read parts of his books when I was young. Recently, I saw his books and decided to read them. My biggest disappointment was that I had not read them before.

I started with The Coming Fury, which covers the events leading up to the Civil War through the first Battle of Bull Run. Mr. Catton doesn't write dry history. He makes the events and the people of that time come alive. For any fan of the Ken Burns Civil War documentary, or anyone who is interested in American history, or even anyone who loves a good book, this is an absolute MUST READ.

well written, engaging and very informative, I'd recommend especially for political wonks as this is not really a breezy read but very detailed and specific about the events and times

learned alot about some incidents i knew relatively little about, such as the multiple democratic conventions, the long run-up to sumter attack with aborted attacks/threats/political maneuvering/conflicting and late orders, peaceful evacuation of texas

intriguing that catton seems to make douglas out as one of the better candidates and is also generally positive regarding jefferson davis

Battles over democratic platform in Charleston with Douglas vs anti Douglas forces, split of democratic party over southern objection to douglas and his policy of wanting states/territories to vote themselves for pro or anti-slavery

republican chicago wigwam convention with lincoln being nominated because he can bring most states over expected seward

although i knew it beforehand, also still shocking to see lincoln's remarks regarding wanting to ship slaves back to africa, and how they aren't equal to whites

subsequent constitutional union party nomination of john bell

subsequent democratic convention in baltimore, douglas nominated

subsequent southern democratic nomination of breckinridge

lincoln winning election but powerless to stop south carolina from seceding

Importance of buchanan in pure fort sumter attack meditations and orders

secession of south carolina and other deep south states but not border states

original CSA capitol of Montgomery, AL before later shifting to Richmond, relatively easy forming of government, selection of Jefferson Davis as President

only 7 of 15 slave states going into secession, only one of which by popular vote

surrender peacefully of us. army in texas then texas succession, twiggs relieved of command

lincoln cabinet recommending mostly to avoid reinforcing fort sumter, then re-considering, lincoln ultimately sending reinforcements, shennanigans of seward, but sumter attacked (bearegard in south taking over as competent general leading attack, sumter surrender)

Loss of Norfolk navy yard, riots of citizens vs between troops in Baltimore

Lincoln suspending habeas corpus in Maryland

Secession by Virginia, nc, Arkansas, tenn, strange happenings in Kentucky

Riots in st Louis, dutch vs militias in Missouri, for jackson affair

mcclellan successes in west virginia in mid April 1961

yankee advance to manassas (bull run) and first big battle (mcdowell vs. beauregard/joe johnston) of war and union defeat

Covering the period from the election of 1860 to the First Battle of Bull Run, this is without doubt the best book on the Civil War I’ve read/listened to yet. Bruce Catton’s books are 60+ years old yet they have a very modern understanding of the causes and motivations of the war. No Lost Cause mythology to be found here: slavery and the south’s attachment to that institution committed them to secession and a war in which their lack of modernization would eventually doom them.

Great detail to the players and events that led to secession of the south.

Most books on the Civil War, even the detailed, multi-volume ones, treat the North and South in the abstract, and give one or two chapters on the years leading up to the war before they're off and running with Fort Sumter and Bull Run. This masterpiece examines the behavior of key states as they made their choices to secede, and also highlights the role geography played in the run up to war. The war was fought over slavery beyond anything else, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, but the early days of the war were nuanced ones, and the nuance is often lost on hearty Civil War buffs.

This is a good book. I only gave it 3 stars because apparently, I'm not as big of an American history buff as I thought I might be.

The first of three volumes in Bruce Catton's Centennial History of the Civil War, this book is a masterpiece of narrative history. Catton provides meticulous detail and perspective of the events leading up to the Civil War while keeping the reader riveted by the fascinating and exciting story unfolding with a force all its own. The causes of the Civil War are clearly elucidated and thoroughly explained. The South had been threatening secession for decades, effectively blackmailing the rest of the country with a conditional and grudging acceptance of Union only if they continually got their way. And what the South primarily demanded was expansion of slavery and new constitutional protections of slavery to protect the "peculiar institution" in perpetuity from any congressional interference or regulation. The notion that slavery was a secondary concern, and the myth of the Lost Cause, that the South seceded to protect "states' rights" and southern heritage is absolute bullshit. There are countless examples of Southern politicians in the years before the Civil War explicitly stating in speech after speech that the aim and God given right of the South was to maintain a society, culture, and economy based on white supremacy and enslavement of blacks. They were not shy about this and persistently shouted it from the rooftops. I am grateful that we have diligent historians like Bruce Catton who have documented this too often forgotten fact with citation after citation. Too many Americans are woefully ignorant of the hard facts of American history. In my opinion, Catton's Civil War histories should be required reading in our schools. And I might make the point that we all could benefit from revisiting this subject matter, and that far from being a chore, it is an engaging, fascinating, and edifying experience to do so by reading this amazing book. It opens with the political conventions of 1860 and ends with the Civil War's first major battle, First Bull Run, aka First Manassas. "The political hostilities of a generation were now face to face with weapons instead of words." First Bull Run did away with the romantic notion of war and woke both North and South up to the ugly reality that an unconceived hellish reality was settling over America for the long haul. I'm going to start the next volume in this trilogy straight away.

Catton and the Civil War can't be beat. This really is (for me) the best telling of what happened in those critical months before Bull Run, and the complexities of thought. Just wonderful.

Bruce Catton’s books on the Civil War are among the best that have been written. This book is thoroughly researched, written simply but provides incredible depth to understanding the conflict. It’s greatest achievement is how much of the book can be applied to our current political divides. What makes this book somewhat unique to the literature of the Civil War is that it has a Northerner’s perspective. This book should be read by all.

Rereading this after a few years. I'm still impressed how wonderfully the prose flows, how evocative the descriptions, and how sweeping the analysis.

Unusually among Civil War histories, Catton starts his narrative with the Democratic Party Convention of 1860: the Southern states walked out of the convention over slavery, splitting the party and -- implicitly -- committing themselves to walk out of the Union.

Opening Chapter 3, Catton describes how, in 1860, "every piece of the intricate machinery by which a democracy can make its solemn choice was available: party conventions, speeches and petitions and debates, a national election campaign, finally a vote on candidates and parties; yet by mid-November nothing had been settled. So then the focus narrowed to the White House and the national Capitol; what was said and done there might still determine whether the crisis could be solved or must be brought to the point of explosion."

Catton beautifully describes the process by which the power to start the war got steadily pushed down the chain of command over the months between the election and the Fort Sumter.

At the end of the chapter, describing Major Anderson's situation, he notes that "...the narrowing-down process had reached its limit at last. The power to make the decision which everyone else had evaded lay now in the hands of two obscure subordinates, a major of United States artillery and a captain of South Carolina infantry. Each man had been given discretionary orders. Between them, they could say whether there would be a war"